I have an idea for Vision SGV — leave the San Geronimo Golf Course alone (Marin Voice, Aug. 9).

It’s a golf course. It’s not their private garden. That some on the Board of Supervisors worked behind the scenes to change that status does not make it theirs.

The comment they make, that “those of us who live in the San Geronimo Valley are the ones who would be most affected, and would most benefit from future uses of the property,” pretty much says it all. They believe that this precious county asset now belongs to them. It does not.

First of all, they are not the most affected — those of us who have enjoyed the golf course and associated facilities for decades in the use for which it was intended are the most affected. But they are correct; they probably will benefit the most, to the tune of many, many millions of tax dollars inappropriately spent on their behalf. The fact that they do not see the absolute wrong in this speaks volumes.

Unfortunately, it has taken a lawsuit by Marin County citizens who do see the wrong in this to halt this travesty. All I can hope for is that the lawsuit will continue until such time as the Trust for Public Land, an organization which I previously held in high esteem, finds the cost too much to bear and sells the course, probably at a loss, to an operator who will maintain this Marin County treasure.

— Tom Andrews, Novato

Are San Rafael officials living in ‘Fantasyland’?

San Rafael seems to be creating a new Fantasyland where old folks will live in expensive boxes and a 140-room hotel will not generate traffic and won’t need parking spaces because its hipster clientele will use Uber and taxis to arrive.

This leads me to think they must believe that Santa Claus will bring presents down their chimneys, the Tooth Fairy will leave coins beneath their pillows, the Easter Bunny will leave baskets of eggs and candy on their door steps, and if they can just catch that elusive Leprechaun he’ll give them a pot of gold.

Where do they think these behemoth commercial enterprises will find enough low-wage workers to staff both the assisted living boxes and a hotel that requires housekeeping and other low-wage staff to operate? Where will those workers live? How will they get to work? Where will they park — because coming from Vallejo and points east they will drive.

Time to stop drinking the Kool Aid and get real about what will make San Rafael truly livable.

— Elaine Reichert, Santa Venetia

Kudos to Marin County’s elections office, staff

Jandira Fenimore’s letter (Readers’ Forum, Aug. 10) is so right about Marin’s Registrar of Voters.

We are an extremely fortunate community to have such a proficient, competent and a highly professional office and staff handling our elections. They are always working to make our elections better, easier and more accessible, and their system is almost perfect. At least in Marin, we know there is no voter fraud.

— Sandra Macleod White, San Rafael

Regarding DMV: ‘Is there something wrong here?’

State Democrats refuse to allow an audit of the Department of Motor Vehicles, where some employees can sleep away their work day while those needing services wait for hours. And now we learn that California state legislators have their own private DMV office so that they don’t have to wait in line like everyone else. Is there something wrong here?

— Richurd Somers, San Anselmo

Charting travel costs of Trump and Obama

Ed Baquerizo of San Rafael stated, “A quick fact check revealed that Trump’s monthly travel expenses averaged 16 times those incurred by President Obama during his time in office.” (Readers’ Forum, Aug. 11)

Through Freedom of Information Act requests, the conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch accessed documents from the U.S. Department of the Air Force. The cost of former U.S. President Barack Obama and his family throughout the former president’s entire eight-year tenure reached a grand total of $114,691,322.17. That is approximately $1,194,701.27 per month.

The same freedom of information request indicated that all told, President Trump amassed $13,533,937.28 in total first-year travel costs, or $1,127.828.11 per month. Two trips by Trump to Mar-a-Lago, including a trip where he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping, cost over $1 million.

— Donald B. Bibeault, Novato

Billing oil companies won’t put us in caves

My letter in response to Nick Clark (Readers’ Forum, Aug. 3) actually does address the use of taxpayer money, because the county stands to gain multiple millions of dollars for damages caused by the use of fossil fuels from an industry that demonstrably knew of the damages, yet spent millions of dollars to convince consumers that their products would not make climate change worse.

When companies sell a product known to be dangerous, they must be held accountable, and efforts to do so are not a waste of money.

It is also obvious (not supposed) that a price on carbon will reduce individual use of fossil fuels. When the price goes up, use declines, which is simple economics. A carbon fee (at the mine, well or port of entry; not at the cash register) will reduce carbon pollution.

If you believe use will decline to the point of living in a cave, I have a cave to sell you. Returning this fee to everyone (e.g. by income tax reductions) is supported by 68 percent of adults in the U.S. (Yale Climate Opinion Maps, 2018). Why tax income when you can tax pollution?

Fossil fuel industries are the largest concentration of wealth and power ever seen on the planet, in all of history. Billing them for their carbon emissions will not cause us to be cave dwellers (other forms of energy are available) but continued, unabated use of fossil fuels will.

— Richard Bailey, Novato

Democrats should find a more fitting slogan

Regarding Ellen Rony’s Marin Voice of Aug. 3, the Democrats had better find a slogan that is better than “Stand up for democracy” if they want to reverse their spiral into irrelevance. I do not see any meaning, other than more Orwellian word games, in that statement.

Everyone will be reminded that the Democratic leadership rigged the Bernie Sanders campaign against him, rigged the debates by giving Hillary Clinton the questions in advance (she still couldn’t win), rigged her State Department records to cover her pay-to-play corruption, organized an FBI/CIA campaign to create false documents with illegal wiretaps on her opponents, supported unleashing the IRS on opponents’ applications and the endless list of very undemocratic behavior is just now being exposed. Democrats and democracy are not equivalents.

I suggest “Stand up for the welfare state,” “Stand up for immigration,” “Stand up for China’s looting of America,” “Stand up for paying for Europe/Japan defense costs,” “Stand up for political correctness.” Those are all winners, for sure.

— Tim Peterson, San Anselmo

Trump could learn from Clinton’s example

President Trump’s attorneys do not want him to talk to Robert Mueller because they believe he would be “walking into a perjury trap.”

A few years ago Republican members of Congress set a perjury trap for Hillary Clinton by asking her to testify about the events of Benghazi. She agreed, but only on the condition that her sworn testimony was carried on live TV. After 11 hours of testimony, no one could think of another question to ask her.

That is how you deal with a perjury trap. You don’t “walk into it.” You kick the door open on your way in, you make sure the public gets to see it, and you refuse to leave until they run out of questions.